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Six competitors axed from Nissan GT Academy: Drifting, physical workout proves too much for some

November 7, 2012

Episode two of Nissan GT Academy airs on Spike TV at 11:30 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday night. If you missed episode one—or forgot to DVR it—we have the full episode right here.

The Nissan GT Academy is a contest for Gran Turismo 5 players. The top 16 players beat 400,000 others from the United States and were flown to Silverstone Circuit in the UK to compete to become a professional driver. They are judged on achievement, effort and style by pro drivers Boris Said, Maryeve Dufault and Danny “spin and win” Sullivan.

The first episode started out with a hot lap in a Nissan 370Z, and the two slowest drivers were bounced from the contest immediately. A challenge called the “quadrathon” was next. Contestants ran, biked and drove to avoid elimination. Four winners were crowned. The last challenge was a drifting event, which seemed the hardest test for the 14 remaining players.

We got a few personal stories from the players stuffed in between challenges, which helps the viewers get a glimpse into their lives. It also makes it a bit sadder when one goes home.

The judges and instructors kicked out four more drivers before episode one was over, leaving 10 for the next episode. Check out episode two tonight. But, because we know Thursday is a big night for network TV—not to mention cable favorites like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League—we’ll have the full episode for you right here on Autoweek.com in a couple of days.